The haunted painting of Williamsport
Williamsport, Pa. — In the Taber Museum on Fourth Street in Williamsport there hangs a painting.
It shows a little girl, cute and chubby, sitting and posing formally. You'd take a glance at it, and then walk by if you were there, not giving it another thought.
Unless you knew the story behind it.
The girl in the painting is Nellie Tallman. Once upon a time, she lived in Williamsport with her family. They are all buried in Wildwood Cemetery, which is said to be haunted.
The painting itself is also haunted.
Nellie died tragically and unexpectedly, giving the painting a history of mysterious and spooky events.
Nellie Tallman was the daughter of John Tallman, born in 1867. She was about 3 years old when her father began to take an interest in art, and took lessons from artist Severin Roesen. Roesen was a very famous artist known for his still life work, and was living in Williamsport at the time.
John Tallman was learning from him. And in his enthusiasm for painting, he decided to have Nellie pose for a portrait. He sat her down on a stool to paint her picture. It was December 5, 1870.
Nellie was 3 years old at this time. Possibly she was tired and bored. Chances are she was fidgety. And she fell from the stool and struck her head. The injury killed her.
It was tragic. It was shocking. Nellie's brokenhearted parents buried her in Wildwood Cemetery. Her father chose to complete the painting and hang it on the wall of his home to remember her.
And that's when the haunting began.
The painting refused to stay where it was put. It fell off the wall no matter where it was hung, or how firmly the nail was set. After a long period of trying to get the painting to stay, Tallman gave up and moved it to the attic, where it sat for quite a long time.
Many years later, relatives of the Tallmans decided to sell the house. The portrait was found in the attic, and they donated it to the Taber Museum. The museum had the same experience that Tallman had. The portrait would not stay where it was hung. On the very first night it was in the museum, a car crashed through the front, knocking the painting to the floor.
When it was hung in the Victorian home exhibit of the museum, it continued to come off the wall, so much so that it became routine for staff to check on it. The museum promotes the painting as being haunted, stating that it's one of the most well-known artifacts in their possession. They sell postcards and pins of Nellie in their gift shop.
Nellie's ghost may perhaps be resting easier these days, however, as the Taber staff seems to have found a solution. They hung the painting up across from another painting, this one by Severin Roesen, the artist who was teaching Nellie's father.
This reminder appears to comfort Nellie, and ever since this placement, her portrait has stayed where it was hung.
